(A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated circuit probing apparatus having a temperature-adjusting mechanism, and more particularly, to an integrated circuit probing apparatus having a temperature-adjusting mechanism to transfer heat into or out of the testing environment by pressurized fluid.
(B) Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate a probe card 10 used for testing electrical properties of an integrated circuit device 36 according to the prior art. The probe card 10 comprises a circuit board 12, a circular supporter 14 positioned on the circuit board 12, and a plurality of probes 16 positioned on the circular supporter 14 by epoxy resin 24. The probes 16 are electrically connected to conductive wires 18 on the back surface of the circuit board 12 via channels 20 inside the circuit board 12.
Referring to FIG. 2, a semiconductor wafer 30 is positioned on a wafer chuck 32 with a heater 34. The wafer chuck 32 will rise during testing so that the tip of the probe 16 can contact a pad 38 of integrated circuit devices 36 of the semiconductor wafer 30. During the testing processes, such as the reliability test of the integrated circuit device 36, the heater 34 heats the semiconductor wafer 30, and heat is transmitted to the test environment where the probe card 10 is positioned by thermal radiation or by thermal conduction through the tip of the probe 16, i.e., the temperature of the test environment increases. The increasing temperature causes the physical or material properties of parts or mechanisms in the test environment to change, for example the thermal expansion property causes the material to strain. As a result, the increasing temperature may interrupt the testing or influence the accuracy of the test. In addition, the heat transfer into or out of a test head above the circuit board 12 may also influence the temperature range at which the test instruments or parts within the test head to give results of lower accuracy due to test being carried out in a temperature outside the specification of the test units.